F1 and other crosses

[ERodrig]

I guess this is basically a two pronged question. First, what exactly is an F1 cross? Is it the product of breeding two purebred cattle or is it something else. Secondly, I have a registered beefmaster that has been bred to my purebred (not registered) heifers which are angus and brangus. Will their calves be called anything in particular other than commercial cattle since they can't be registered? Thanks for your help.

 

[Ryder]

If you do a search for the subject you will find more than enough discussion.

 

[East Caney]

F1 = the first cross between two purebred animals (e.g. beefmaster/angus or beefmaster/brangus).

As Ryder said, you can find a ton of posts related to the topic. Essentially, you'll have calves that are better than the avg of the parents. Other traits such as fertility and longevity may also be enhanced through heterosis (which you get with an F1).

 

[birdog]

The heifers should qualify for the Beefmaster "E6" program. You can find more info on the beefmaster website. http://www.beefmasters.org/pages/index.php?page_id=30 I've been using a beefmaster bull on brangus cows and really like the cross. Good luck

 

[dun]

Just to toss another turd in the bowl, Beefmaster, Gerts and Brangus are composit breeds. Even if they do breed true when bred to the same composit, if you start throwing back the original breeds into the mix you would start to lose some heterosis.

 

[birdog]

Just to toss another turd in the bowl, Beefmaster, Gerts and Brangus are composit breeds. Even if they do breed true when bred to the same composit, if you start throwing back the original breeds into the mix you would start to lose some heterosis.

I agree, I'm planning on using a charolais bull as a terminal sire on the retained heifers.